A great deal of interest is presently being shown in the development of alternative energy sources. One type of energy in which people are showing interest in is that from the wind. New and more efficient wind turbine generators are being developed, but these need to be placed on towers which are easy and economical to erect.
Large towers, forty or more feet tall, are needed to support wind turbines and the towers need to withstand strong lateral forces caused by the wind. These towers have in the past required guy wires, large base areas, and are generally not very aesthetic. Other towers have been created which are segments of frustro-conical sections welded together. This welding has required a lot of talent in the field, hence making them expensive to acquire and build. Power towers have been described in recent patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,639 for a revolving power tower, or U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,929 for a wind tower made from frustro-conical segments welded together, both of which are incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to a unique wind turbine tower and its construction.
The tower of this invention has a plurality of sections with each section being made from a series of welded rings. Each section has rings which are identical in outer diameter however the outer diameter of the bottom section is up to 50% larger than the upper section. The tower is anchored to the ground, preferably by cement and its most preferred version is cylindrical and hollow. Atop the bottom section is affixed a first transition section which can be cylindrical and of the identical diameter as the bottom section, or alternatively, can be conical in shape. If conical, this transition section is preferably a frustro-conical segment. The transition section takes the form of a ring. Atop the upper section is a conical transition ring. The bottom section is bolted to the transition ring. The upper section is bolted to the transition ring. Platforms and ladders are installed on the interior of the tower sections prior to assembly in the field.
A wind turbine generator is placed on top of the upper section, preferably on a bolted flange ring.